A coalition of 39 prominent European financial institutions and technology groups is pressing lawmakers to accelerate the revision of distributed ledger technology regulations, cautioning that Europe risks lagging behind the US in the digital finance sector. In a joint letter addressed to the European Commission and Parliament, signatories including Boerse Stuttgart Group, Nasdaq, and various EU fintech associations requested that the DLT pilot regime be detached from a broader package of 18 financial laws currently under review.
By handling these regulations independently, the firms argue that updates can be implemented more swiftly. The DLT pilot, which has been in effect since 2023, enables companies to experiment with tokenized assets and blockchain-based trading and settlement.
However, its inclusion in a larger legislative package may lead to a protracted review process. The coalition is advocating for practical reforms, such as expanding the range of permissible assets, increasing transaction limits to 150 billion euros, and eliminating license expiry dates. These changes would, in their view, allow firms to establish substantial markets rather than merely conducting small-scale trials. This appeal comes as the US is shaping its regulatory framework for the industry, including the proposed Genius Act, aimed at integrating crypto into mainstream finance.
The European Commission, however, has indicated a preference for passing the entire legislative package as part of its strategy to mobilize investment.